Hello - I recently got a cnc with Mach3 and I have been slowly getting to know it and how to use it. The table that came with the machine was done, so I want to make a new table. I wrote a little gcode program to drill and counterbore for the socket cap screws that hold the table to the base using a 1/4" end mill. There are about 30 holes in the table.
Most of the holes are fine - their counterbore is round, and the socket cap screws fit with a little slop, as planned.
But a few of them do not have round counterbores - the tool enters the workpiece, moves in the positive x direction, moves back to the center, drills, and returns. The Y axis is never engaged. I have tried it with the spindle on and off, with a workpiece and without, it always does the same thing. One of the holes is the very first so I thought it might be softlimits, but another hole is out in the middle of the field. I also suspected the machine itself, but it is incredibly consistent - always the same holes, always the same way, I never see the y-axis steppers move at all, and the x only goes and comes back. I am using Mach3 R3.043.066, appropriately licensed to me.
The code is very simple, here is an excerpt:
...
g0 x.8622 y.8208
m98 p2345
g0 x.9060 y12.2972
m98 p2345
...
o2345
g1 z-.5
g12 i.078125 f10
g1 z-.875
g12 i.015625 f10
g0 z.25
m99
As you can see, it moves around to all the locations of the screws (which are not at all regular) and at each location calls the subroutine o2345 which uses g12 to cut two circular pockets - one counterbore, .5" deep, a little over 3/8" in diameter, the other 7/8" deep, a little over 1/4" in diameter.
Thank you for any thoughts you might have!
Bart